.............................................................................................................................................
Joy in Trials
3 Reasons for Joy in Trials
.
Trials provide an opportunity
to experience God’s presence in ways we cannot in easy times. If we never have
to rely on God, we would never experience His faithfulness - if we are never
weak, we would never experience His strength. Through trials we move from
merely intellectual knowledge of God to experiential knowledge - shared times
of trial fosters deep intimacy and dependence
by Kathy Howard
“For when your faith is tested,
your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your
endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for
anything.” James 1:3-4, NLT
Does God’s truth ever seem just crazy to you?
Well, we find more of this counter-intuitive craziness in the
first chapter of James.
The brother of Jesus, who was also the leader of the church in
Jerusalem, wrote this to Jewish believers scattered around the world by
persecution:
“Dear brothers and sisters,
whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when
your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow,
for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and
ready for anything.” James
1:2-4, NLT
Through the years, I’ve heard preachers, Bible teachers, and
others say that Christians can experience joy in spite of
trials and troubles.
And while that is true, that’s not what James meant in this
passage.
Depending on the translation you’re using, at the beginning of
verse 3 you may see “for,” “because of,” “when,” or “whenever.”
But you won’t see “in spite of.”
As crazy as it sounds to us, James did indeed mean that
believers should consider trials an opportunity to experience joy.
He even tells us why.
1. God’s
Process – Trails build and grow our faith like weight training
does for our muscles.
Life’s difficulties, Christian persecution, and temptations all
put our faith to test.
God uses this process to burn away impurities, refining our
faith. He builds and shapes our character to look more like Jesus.
2. God’s
Purpose – I love the way the NLT translation puts it.
When our faith is fully
developed, we will be “ready for anything!”
God has a specific purpose for each of us (Ephesians 2:10).
He has a plan, a way He wants to use us for His Kingdom. But He
must shape and prepare His tools (you and me) so we will be useful in His
hands.
3. God’s
Presence – Throughout God’s Word, He promises to be with us always
and through everything (Isaiah 43:1-2, Matthew 28:19-20).
Trials provide an opportunity to experience God’s presence in
ways we cannot in easy times.
Through trials we move from merely intellectual knowledge of God
to experiential knowledge. Shared times of trial fosters deep intimacy and
dependence.
This truth seems crazy to us because we often move through life
spiritually short-sighted.
We are stuck in this physical world and fail to see the greater
reality.
God works on an eternal time-table with eternal purposes in
mind.
He’s working for the end game. Let’s join Him!
Which of these 3 P’s do you struggle with most to keep in
mind? Why?
Kathy Howard has been teaching the Bible since she fell in love with God’s Word
almost 30 years ago. She speaks regularly at women’s retreats and events across
the United States and internationally. The author of eight books, including
five Bible studies, Kathy writes to have something to do while she eats
chocolate and drinks coffee. She has a Masters in Christian Education and a
certificate in women’s ministry from the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary.
In
recent years, God has been teaching Kathy more about His abundant grace.
Through her own relationships and life experiences, she is learning to extend
the grace God has so lavishly poured out on her own life.
On a
personal level, Kathy calls herself a “confused southerner.” Raised in
Louisiana, she has moved with her engineer husband around the U.S. and Canada.
She says “pop” instead of “Coke” and “you guys” as often as “ya’ll.” But she’s
still a southern girl at heart!
Kathy
and her husband now live in north Texas. They have three children, two
sons-in-law, one daughter-in-law, four precious grandsons, and one tiny diva
granddaughter. When the family gets together there are also five dogs in the
mix.
https://www.kathyhoward.org/3-reasons-for-joy-in-trials/
You might also like:
Through It All
Andrae Crouch
CLICK HERE . . . to view complete playlist . .
.
No comments:
Post a Comment